The Upper Truckee Marsh in April 2013. Photo/LTN file

By Kathryn Reed

A possible project to come out the California water bond that is on the Nov. 4 ballot is restoration of the Upper Truckee Marsh.

On Thursday the California Tahoe Conservancy board heard a presentation about staff’s recommendation for how to restore this approximately 500-acre parcel. The CTC owns this swath of land that borders the Tahoe Keys and Al Tahoe neighborhoods in South Lake Tahoe and goes from Highway 50 to Lake Tahoe.

The west and east sides of the marsh. Image/CTC

Four alternatives were studied in the environmental documents, with the Conservancy not having a preferred one. Now staff is recommending a hybrid. The final environmental impact report and environmental impact study should be out in late spring, early summer 2015. The soonest any work could start is 2017, and that would not be anything substantive, according to staff.

Residents in Al Tahoe have been vocal about their opposition to increasing recreation opportunities on their side of the marsh. Parking would be an issue, plus they questioned how this would be good for plants and animals. Their concerns were heard.

And at the Sept. 18 meeting many applauded the decision.

No elevated boardwalks or viewing areas will be erected on the east side of the marsh. Trout Creek, which runs on this side, will see some restoration work. In the future it will come into the marsh as one channel, but then will be allowed to meander through the marsh to Lake Tahoe without a defined route. This returns the waterway to how it functioned before settlers messed with it.

One person raised issues about flooding, questioning if enough analysis has been done to ensure tweaking the area even a few inches won’t cause problems for residents.

On the west side of the marsh is where most of the visible changes will take place. This includes rerouting the trail at Cove East, changing how the lagoon off the boat channel functions and possibly relocating the Tahoe Keys Property Owner Association’s corporation yard.

Overall goals of the entire project include:

• Restoring and enhancing habitat

• Improving water quality

• Protecting Tahoe yellow cress

• Providing appropriate public access

• Preserving cultural heritage

• Avoiding flood hazards.

CTC staff is in the process of responding to the 65 public comments and 12 agency comments. However, many centered on enforcement of the area and not the actual alternatives.

The east side has more issues with people being unruly, letting dogs run wild, parties and trash. The Conservancy said it is looking into how to better address these concerns.

By Siemny Chhuon, KXTV 

A Pollock Pines homeowner was told by law enforcement that the arson suspect in the King Fire apparently broke into his home to call 911  after allegedly starting the fire.

Wayne Allen Huntsman

“I can’t understand what the guy was thinking,” homeowner Ralf Lorenz said.

Lorenz wasn’t home at the time. He was working in the Bay Area when the King Fire broke out Saturday on the steep embankment behind his home. His first clue that something wasn’t right was when he got a call from his home security company that afternoon.

Authorities told Lorenz on Thursday that they had arrested 37-year-old suspect Wayne Allen Huntsman. Thursday afternoon, law enforcement staged near the origin of the fire off of King of the Mountain Road. They had no comment about the case only saying it was an active crime scene.

Read the whole story

Ray Lacey is retiring from the California Tahoe Conservancy after 25 years. Photos/Kathryn Reed

By Kathryn Reed

Ray Lacey knew what job he wanted to have before it even existed. Now, after 25 years with the California Tahoe Conservancy, the deputy director is calling it quits.

Lacey earned an undergraduate and graduate degree from UC Berkeley and then a graduate degree in watershed planning from UC Davis. While at Davis he described the job he wanted to his advisor. That person informed him it didn’t exist. Five years later it did with the Conservancy.

The 58-year-old attended his last board meeting on Thursday – at least as a full-time employee. The South Shore resident isn’t going anywhere, so the board has said he will be tapped as a resource to train his successor and to work on projects. But officially his status as a regular employee ends latter this month.

“I think of myself as a community planner from an environment perspective. I tried to take the social and human interest as well and not just the ecological perspective,” Lacey told Lake Tahoe News. “This is not a preserve or reserve. This is a living, breathing community.”

Now he’ll be spending more time with family – his mom is 104, and traveling.

“I always thought of him as being the ideal employee. He has never not done what he was supposed to do. He never makes a mistake, always does what he says he’s going to, and is always on time. He’s the perfect person,” Larry Sevinson, chair of the CTC board, told Lake Tahoe News. “He has also been a friend to everybody. No matter what I throw at him he gets it resolved.”

Lacey’s fingerprints are on most of the Conservancy’s projects in the basin. But he describes what he does as putting the icing on the cake; that it was others who are not always recognized and the land acquisition folks who deserve credit for providing him a canvas to transform.

“His legacy is working with Tahoe City Public Utility District on Commons Beach and Lakeview Commons on the South Shore. They have become community gathering places largely because of his work,” Patrick Wright, CTC executive director, told Lake Tahoe News.

Community has been Lacey’s focus from Day 1 and continues to be. (The Conservancy was formed in 1984 and Lacey joined it in 1989.) His approach to projects has been to strive for the greater good – especially knowing it is taxpayer dollars that is paying for whatever improvements are being made.

He said listening to constituents is key to getting community projects in the ground.

Lacey reflected back on how in the 1980s Kings Beach was trying to figure out what to do with lakefront property. A common goal is to put things by the water that could not be put elsewhere. So when people wanted a basketball court the Conservancy’s thinking was this could go elsewhere. But meeting after meeting young people voiced the desire for the basketball court. That court got built. A few years latter he went by it and some young men were playing. It was in good shape. No graffiti or vandalism. They told him they were going to take care of it and did; and they thanked him for making their dream become a reality.

“That’s the power of listening to your constituency,” Lacey said.

Listening is one of the traits Lacey is known for – as well as having a vision.

Ray Lacey, center, at the groundbreaking of Lakeview Commons with Jerry Birdwell, from left, Bruce Grego, Kathay Lovell and Norma Santiago.

“He is insightful and very diplomatic. He has Conservancy in his blood and always will,” Bruce Eisner, longtime Conservancy employee, told Lake Tahoe News. “He’s always been someone people can talk to within the agency. He listens to what you have to say. People will miss that.”

He also joked how Lacey has always been better dressed than everyone else.

“Ray always set a dress standard the rest of us could only dream about … double and triple starched shirts. I’m sure John’s Cleansers will miss him as much as us,” Eisner said with a laugh.

At the Sept. 18 board meeting others also commented on the dapper Lacey.

Another thing he is known for is taking fabulous vacations. He’ll be doing that again as soon as he becomes a retiree. He’s headed for Spain.

“I admire his work ethic and diplomacy. But I also admire his long vacations. When he got away, he got away,” Cindy Gustafson said.

Gustafson, who is executive director of the Tahoe City Public Utility District, has worked with Lacey since the late 1980s when she was a planner with Placer County. She credits him for helping to bring $16 million in CTC funds to the TCPUD and another nearly $5 million in other state funding. Bike trails, river access, Commons Beach, and the 64-acres are the bigger projects on the North Shore that Lacey had a part in.

Lacey has a knack for getting people to envision an idea for a parcel they would have never imagined. Such was the case when he took then CTC members Kathay Lovell and Norma Santiago to see what he and Gustafson had created with Commons Beach in Tahoe City. They were convinced something similar could be done with El Dorado Beach.

“That epitomizes that you can do projects for enormous good, but are all about community,” Lacey said.

That’s not to say it was always easy to get things accomplished, especially in such a heavily regulated area like the Lake Tahoe Basin.

Ray Lacey speaking to a community group about Conservancy issues.

“He always managed to see the positive side. It was evident this was not a job for him. He truly loves Lake Tahoe and he wanted to do everything possible to enhance the ability for people to recreate in Lake Tahoe on the California side,” said Lovell, who spent six of her eight years as a South Lake Tahoe City Council member on the CTC board.

Gustafson said Lacey has an ability to listen to everyone’s concerns, be diplomatic, always be professional, problem-solve and build consensus, which made him stand out above others.

“He was always able to work through issues with folks and gain their respect, maybe not agreement,” Gustafson told Lake Tahoe News. “I never saw anyone walk away and be hurt by Ray.”

Through the years Lacey has had other job offers. But Tahoe has been in his blood since he was a young man, spending as much time during high school and college as he could at the lake. His college work also centered on Lake Tahoe. But more important to him is that sense of community. He doesn’t believe it’s possible to effect change without understanding the fabric of a community. That’s why community comes before environmental planning for him.

“You need to know how the community works, to have the pulse of it, and know what makes people feel connected to their environment,” Lacey said.

By Joanne Marchetta

“A breakdown can pave the way for a breakthrough,” Gov. Jerry Brown said at the Lake Tahoe Summit on Aug. 19.

The governor was speaking about the challenges people face in looking beyond their differences for common ground, whether that’s working to craft the $7.5 billion water bond California voters will consider in November or working across state lines to protect and restore Lake Tahoe.

Joanne Marchetta

Several years ago, California and Nevada faced a breakdown over a long-needed update to the Tahoe Regional Plan. Working together, we forged a common vision and found our needed breakthrough. Less than two years after adopting the Regional Plan update, progress toward that common vision is evident.

The challenge is sustaining that progress, and bringing our creativity to bear on looming funding shortfalls.

The Bijou Erosion Control Project under construction in South Lake Tahoe will reduce the amount of fine sediment washing into Lake Tahoe by more than 20,000 pounds per year. The Harrison Avenue Streetscape Improvement Project, a partnership between the city and private property owners, is not only beautifying that street and improving its pedestrian routes, but also improving stormwater drainage. On the North Shore, the Kings Beach Commercial Core Improvement Project is beautifying streetscapes, upgrading bicycle and pedestrian routes and calming traffic. It’s expected to reduce fine sediment flows that carry pollutants into Lake Tahoe by another 45,000 pounds per year.

More than six miles of bike and pedestrian routes have been built since the Regional Plan update was approved in December 2012. Another three miles are on track to be completed by the end of summer or early next year.

Every local government around the Lake Tahoe Basin is embracing its responsibilities for environmental progress, local planning and economic revitalization under the new area plan framework. Douglas County adopted the South Shore Area Plan. South Lake Tahoe adopted the Tourist Core Area Plan. Five more area plans are under way, meaning every jurisdiction in the basin — South Lake Tahoe and El Dorado, Placer, Douglas and Washoe counties – is working to meet our new standards for environmental gain and economic revitalization.

Progress is being made. But funding for many of our major projects and some of our most critical programs has come from federal and state funding sources that are sunsetting. Tahoe is standing on a fiscal cliff and the ground is sloughing off beneath our feet. Finding ways to secure sustainable funding is our biggest challenge for continued implementation of the Regional Plan update.

That includes finding funding for our watercraft inspection program to keep aquatic invasive species out of the lake. The program has been called a model for the nation by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Gap funding has been secured to sustain the inspection program for at least one more year, but we need to find a way to sustain it in the long-term.

Continued environmental restoration at Lake Tahoe will require sustainable investments shared by all of our partners. We need continued vigilance pushing for congressional reauthorization of the $415 million Lake Tahoe Restoration Act and concerted efforts to pass the $7.5 billion California Water Bond initiative. Also key is working with Nevada to prioritize already authorized bond funds over the next decade.

Without progress in securing additional funds we risk backsliding in our efforts. Staring straight into an impending breakdown in funding, we are seeking another breakthrough. To that end, we are bringing our best creative thinking, our greatest drives toward innovation, our entrepreneurial spirit, and our strongest collaborative skills to imagining new funding sources, new collaborations and partnerships, and new solutions to the problems facing Tahoe.

Joanne Marchetta is executive director of the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency.

By Scott Sonner, AP

RENO — A Nevada trucking company could be forced to pay more than $5.7 million if a judge formalizes a jury verdict that faulted one of its drivers for a fiery 2011 crash with an Amtrak train that killed six people and injured dozens.

A federal jury in Reno awarded $4.5 million to Amtrak and $210,777 to Union Pacific Railroad for damages resulting from John Davis Trucking Co.’s negligence when one of its trucks slammed into the side of a passenger train at a rural crossing 70 miles east of Reno. Conductor Laurette Lee, 68, of South Lake Tahoe was killed.

U.S. District Judge Howard McKibben put the judgment on hold until Sept. 29 to consider adding up to another $1 million or more in attorney fees and interest to the railroad companies’ award.

The truck driver, a train conductor and four passengers on the California Zephyr died in the crash where a highway crosses the tracks on June 24, 2011.

Amtrak and Union Pacific sued, seeking damages of up to $11 million from John Davis Trucking after the National Transportation Safety Board concluded in December 2012 that the wreck most likely was caused by an inattentive trucker with a history of speeding violations driving a tractor-trailer with faulty brakes.

Lawyers for the trucking firm told jurors during the four-week trial last month that Union Pacific Railroad officials manipulated or destroyed evidence that would have proved a malfunctioning crossing gate and signal lights were responsible for the crash.
Railroad attorneys presented video clips from a camera mounted on the locomotive that they said proved the truck driver, Larry Valli of Winnemucca, Nevada, ignored flashing lights, a functioning gate and repeated whistle blasts before slamming into the fourth car of the train after two locomotives and a baggage car already had cleared the crossing.
“It was almost like a rocket hitting, blew up and burned,” Amtrak lawyer Mark Landman said. “We will never know what Mr. Valli was doing. One thing we know he was not doing was looking where he was going.”

The biggest chunk of the award to Amtrak in the jury verdict returned Aug. 29 was for damage to three rail cars, $2.5 million, along with $1.2 million for medical costs for employees and passengers. Union Pacific’s award included $162,835 to cover costs of repairing the signal system damaged in the crash.
John Moore, a Reno lawyer for the railroads, filed a motion last week seeking more than $756,000 in interest due to Amtrak and $34,000 in interest due to Union Pacific. That alone would push the judgment past $5.5 million, with attorney fees expected to total several hundred thousand dollars or more still to be determined.
The train bound from Chicago to Emeryville, California, was three hours behind schedule when it left Salt Lake City on the day of the crash.

The children of the conductor Lee are among those who have filed separate lawsuits over the crash, naming Valli and John Davis Trucking as defendants. The passengers killed in the accident were: Cheuy Ong, 34, of West Jordan, Utah; Francis Knox, 58, and Karly “Annie” Knox, 18, of Seward, Neb.; and Barbara Bell, 60, of United Kingdom.

The 25th annual Lake in the Sky Air Show at Lake Tahoe Airport is Sept. 20.

This year’s show which will include: aerial performances, two World War II aircraft, CalSTAR, tons of planes, music, K-9 demo, beer garden and more.

Youth ages 8 through 17 will have a chance to take to the skies on Sept. 21 as Experimental Aircraft Associatio Chapter 1073 of Truckee hosts a Young Eagles Flight Rally. Registration will occur at the air show.

Gates open to the public on Saturday at 8 am. Opening ceremonies are scheduled for 10am. The aerial performances will begin right after and run until 4 pm.

Admission is free this year.

Updated Sept. 18 7pm:

By Kathryn Reed

An arrest has been made in the out-of-control King Fire near Pollock Pines.

Wayne Allen Huntsman, 37, was arrested Sept. 17 on a charge of arson – forestland. His bail was set at $10 million.

Wayne Allen Huntsman

The King Fire erupted Sept 13 and has since burned 73,184 acres and is 10 percent contained.

A criminal complaint was filed by the El Dorado County District Attorney’s Office on Sept. 18 alleging Huntsman “willfully and maliciously set fire to and burn, and caused to be burned forest land” in what is now known as the King Fire. Aggravating factors have been added because two people fighting the fire have been injured.

Huntsman has a criminal past. In Santa Cruz County he has been convicted of assault with a deadly weapon and in Plumas County on property theft charges.

He is scheduled to be arraigned Sept. 19 at 1pm in Placerville.

How the fire was started has not been released.

Smoke from the King Fire makes for a colorful sunset at Cave Rock. Photo/Susan Wood

Fire update

“The fire is a not a threat to the basin at this time,” Dave Zaski with North Tahoe Fire told Lake Tahoe News Thursday afternoon. There are also no evacuations in the basin. And Truckee is also not threatened.

The terrain that ignited last night was heavily wooded, whereas the areas close to Alpine Meadows and Squaw Valley are full of granite.

“We are telling people to have an evacuation plan ready. If something goes bad, we will tell them,” Zaski said.

Winds are also expected to decrease and the humidity level should be good for fighting the fire this evening.

The fire is moving east toward Desolation Wilderness. It has moved into Placer County. As of Thursday morning it was almost at Hell Hole Reservoir. The U.S. Forest Service has issued an advisory for people to not hike or backpack in Desolation and Granite Chief wilderness areas. The McKinney Rubicon Trail has been closed. A closure notice has been issued for Eldorado National Forest until the fire is out.

While no structures have been lost as of Sept. 18, thousands of residents are temporarily displaced as fire threatens them. As of Thursday night, 12,000 single residences and 9,000 other minor structures are in the path of the fire.

Because of evacuations advised for the areas of Kyburz and Silver Fork, Silver Fork Elementary School will be closed Sept. 19.

Highway 50 is closed from Pollock Pines to Riverton. For updates from Caltrans, click on the state icon on the home page of Lake Tahoe News.

The fire is moving north from Pollock Pines into popular wilderness areas. Hell Hole Reservoir is at the top, then Loon Lake to the right, and Union Valley Reservoir near the center. Map/Google Images

On Wednesday, Gov. Jerry Brown issued an emergency proclamation for El Dorado and Siskiyou counties because of the King and Boles fires. The Boles Fire is the one that swept through the town of Weed and continues to burn.

Smoke is expected to continue to be a problem for Truckee, Carson City and Reno areas. Washoe County is reporting unhealthy air quality and recommending people not go outside, especially people with respiratory issues, older people and the very young.

The evacuation center is at the Seventh-day Adventist Church in Camino, where small animals are welcome. Another Red Cross evacuation center is located at 6530 Wentworth Springs Road in Georgetown. Late Thursday afternoon the South Lake Tahoe Recreation Center opened as an evacuation site. Lake Tahoe Humane Society has provided cages for small animals because the West Slope ran out of them.

The Ironman race on the North Shore this weekend is still scheduled. The air show at Lake Tahoe Airport on the South Shore is also still happening, only now the admission is free.

Nearly 3,700 people are working the King Fire with 327 engines, 15 helicopters, 49 dozers and 80 water tenders. Crews from Lake Tahoe are at the fire.

Officials say it is costing $5 million a day to fight the fire.

By Brady McCombs, AP

SALT LAKE CITY — Utah officials launched a $1.8 million campaign Tuesday to market Salt Lake City as “Ski City USA” in an effort to lure skiers away from top destination spots like Colorado and earn a bigger chunk of the lucrative winter sports market.

A package of online and print advertisements highlights the benefits of Salt Lake City being a short drive from four ski resorts located in the Big and Little Cottonwood Canyons east of Salt Lake City: Alta Ski Area, Brighton Resort, Snowbird Ski Resort and Solitude Mountain Resort.

Salt Lake County Mayor Ben McAdams said during a news conference Tuesday that no other ski destination in the United States offers the quality of terrain and proximity to a major airport and large city with restaurants, bars and night life.

McAdams was joined by other local government leaders, tourism officials and ski resort executives during the unveiling of the campaign.

“It’s about time that we all got together and realized this whole valley is the base camp for the skiing that will happen in our four ski resorts,” said Tom Dolan, mayor of Sandy, a Salt Lake City suburb that sits down the hill from the ski areas. “We all benefit from skiers who come here from all over the world.”

Visit Salt Lake President Scott Beck said the new campaign is absolutely aimed at luring skiers away from Colorado, which annually registers about three times more skier visits than Utah, according to figures from the National Ski Area Association. Last season, Utah had 4.1 million day visits from skiers and snowboarders — compared to 12.6 million in Colorado.

Vicki Varela, managing director of the Utah Office of Tourism, said her office’s research has shown that more than half of people who are shown a picture of Salt Lake City’s skyline with the mountains behind think it is Denver.

“It’s outrageous that we have the product and they have that brand,” Varela said. “This gives us the story that we deserve to have on the national stage.”

The new marketing campaign doesn’t include three resorts near Park City, Utah, also located a short drive from Salt Lake City.

Last week, Vail Resorts Inc., a ski industry titan based in Colorado, purchased Park City Mountain Resort in a move that put an end to a messy legal battle between the two major companies and paved the way for the creation of what could be the country’s largest resort. Vail also operates the adjacent Canyons ski area.

McAdams mentioned Park City by name in listing other ski towns that don’t match what Salt Lake City has to offer. But Visit Salt Lake President Scott Beck said the campaign isn’t a response to Vail’s entry into the market or an attempt to steal skiers away from their neighboring resorts.

The four resorts in this program are partners with three Park City resorts — Canyons Resort, Deer Valley Resort, Park City Mountain Resort — in another long-term plan that is being promoted by Utah ski officials. In a program being called, “One Wasatch,” a plan is being hatched to link seven ski areas with connecting lifts that would give the state a European-style experience.

If that plan comes to fruition — there is no timeline yet — it would be like “Sky City on steroids,” Beck joked.

The campaign is paid for by Visit Salt Lake, which gets its revenue from a tax visitors pay when they stay at hotels. The branding campaign won’t replace the long-running statewide slogan, “The Greatest Snow on Earth,” which is on Utah license plates and used throughout promotional materials.

By Kathryn Reed

STATELINE – Gang members are among us – in schools, at stores, in our neighborhoods. They get recruited at the elementary level and often don’t leave until they’re killed.

While these facts seemed to come as a surprise to many members of Soroptimist International South Lake Tahoe, the reality is gangs are nothing new to the Lake Tahoe Basin. Every year law enforcement tries to figure out how to get a handle on the situation, and how best to educate kids, parents and the public at large. And every year media writes about it.

There are 26 known gangs in South Lake Tahoe, with about a half dozen of those being inactive. And there are 159 documented members in those gangs. Sureño – aka Southside 13 in Tahoe, Norteño – aka Eastside Familia, Juggalos, OMG (Outlaw Motorcycle Gang), TNB (Trust NoBitch), and Cyclones are some of the more active gangs locally.

South Lake Tahoe police Sgt. Shannon Norrgard on Sept. 17 talks about local gangs. Photo/LTN

Blue, red, 13, 14, TNB, ESF – see those colors, numbers or letters and know it’s gang related. Thirteen comes from M being the 13th letter in the alphabet. M is for Mexico and the Southerners. The letter N is the 14th letter and represents the Northerners.

South Lake Tahoe police Sgt. Shannon Norrgard and Detective Nick Carlquist gave an overview of the local gang situation to Soroptimist on Sept. 17 at Harveys.

One Soroptimist member talked about having just served on a jury that convicted Cesar Caro in the 2012 gang related shooting on Bonanza Street. He could get 25 years to life when he is sentenced in October.

Carlquist said there is a link between guns being easy to obtain in Nevada and marijuana accessible in California. The two are often traded without any money exchanging hands.

“Where there are gangs, there are weapons and where there are weapons, there are drugs,” he said.

While there are a slew of crimes tied to gangs, in South Lake Tahoe assault with a deadly weapon and vandalism are the predominant issues.

In state Penal Code it doesn’t use gang, but instead considers this behavior street terrorism.

“They will recruit anyone,” Norrgard said.

She said the more a gang member is feared and can intimidate others, the more respect that person garners in the group. And gang members are both genders. Females are often the ones to carry the drugs and weapons.

The officers said without the community’s help it’s impossible to get the gang-bangers off the streets. People need to pay attention to what kids are wearing, scribbling on paper, tattooing on themselves; letting officials know about graffiti; and having an awareness in neighborhoods, and when out and about. But they also cautioned not to intervene. Anonymous calls about suspected gang activity may be placed to Secret Witness at 530.541.6800.

• The Ritz-Carlton, Lake Tahoe’s inaugural Epicurean Weekend is Oct. 3-5.

• The Great Nevada ShakeOut is a coordinated “drop, cover and hold on” exercise on Oct. 16 at 10:16am. Last year more than 560,000 Nevadans participated. To register as an individual, business, school or government agency or organization, go online.

• This 33rd annual Tahoe Rim Trail Association meeting is Oct. 8 at 8pm at the top of Heavenly Mountain Resort’s tram. Cost is $30/individual, $55/couple. It includes the tram ride, light hors d’oeuvres, silent auction, state of the trail address, and a brief award ceremony. Register online.

• The 18th annual Bud Davis Memorial Abalone Dinner benefitting Tahoe Cross Country is Sept. 29 at Wolfdale’s in Tahoe City. For reservations, call 530.583.6700. Tickets are $95.

• The 36th annual Freakers Ball is Oct. 25 at 8pm at MontBleu in Stateline. Tickets are $25 in advance or $30 the week of the event. They are available through Ticketmaster.com or call 888.829.7630.